At half-way point, Eldo's 'Aladdin' well-received

Dec. 19, 2012

Scenes from 'Aladdin and his Lamp' at the Eldorado. / Photo by Marilyn Newton/RGJ

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Aladdin and his Lamp

Schedule: Go to www.EldoradoReno.com to find show times, which are held almost every day with matinee shows available on weekends and holidays. Cost: Children 3-12 $19.95, seniors 60-and-up $21.95, adults $24.95. Where: Eldorado Showroom at the Eldorado Hotel Casino in downtown Reno

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When families are in town for the holidays, often times they look for activities to do together. But sometimes entertaining children, the in-laws, grandparents and others all at once can be difficult.

Quintin Young, executive producer of the show “Aladdin and his Lamp,” has an idea for you.

His holiday musical adventure has been well received by all audience demographics in its four-week run at the Eldorado Hotel Casino. The show is at the half-way point of its 8-week tour in Reno, the first U.S. stop ever after being shown in England and a 10-city tour in China.

The show is filled with drama and laughter.

“It’s gone really well, we’re quite delighted,” said Young, who worked on Peter Pan, a show at the Eldorado earlier this year. “We’ve had an amazing reception. The four shows we did over the weekend were completely sold out, which speaks for itself during this recession.”

Aladdin has showtimes nearly every day of the week and twice on weekends and holidays. More information can be found at www.eldoradoreno.com.

Young said he always has high expectations for his productions and Aladdin hasn’t let him down. He truly believes the show has all the elements to make the show entertaining to all age groups.

The crowd is encouraged to participate, with the most action coming when fans boo the evil character Abanazer, who is played by Roy Richardson. Booing and hissing is very much encouraged, and children often get into the act.

One elderly couple approached Young and said they enjoyed the show by itself, but also found it entertaining how the children in the audience were so engaged.

Young also noted that everyone likes a hero and Aladdin, played by Cameron Smith, is perfect for the role. Ali Baba, played by Christopher Wren, is a friend and ally of Aladdin who provides comedy as well as a nice saxophone rift. Marrisa Joy plays the princess and is recognizable from her roll as Wendy in Peter Pan earlier this year at the Eldorado.

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Even the guards (Alexander Nguyen, JayR deGuzman and Nathan Ng, all of whom have martial arts backgrounds) provide extremely athletic moves that keeps the audience captivated.

“It truly is a show for all ages,” Young said.

And that’s just the live acting.

The show also has a 3D element called Live Action 3D Megavision not seen in the U.S. prior to this show. Glasses are provided for the show and it brings forth the Genie as an in-your-face presence. There’s also a volcano that shoots rocks from a mountain that is neat to watch.

The 3D machine used in the show is also one that will be used at the Renown Children’s Hospital as a pain distraction unit for kids getting shots and blood transfusions. The directors of the show, Jimmy Osmond and Jon Conway, raised money and donated the $15,000 pain distraction unit and it will be delivered to the hospital later this week, Young said.

The crowd also is asked to donate after the show to bring another unit to the area, which is one of the first of its kind.

Young added that giving back to the community is important, especially around the holidays.

So, if you’re looking for something to do during the holidays, “Please consider us,” Young said.